Nearly two years ago I asked: “What’s the future of this building?“. Although readers expressed interest and offered some information, the question couldn’t be clearly answered. Now, I can tell you what the future is: a nightclub/restaurant the likes of which Raleigh has yet to see on the ground level, and office space on the upper levels.

Located at 309 North Dawson Street, this was the former home of the Melrose Knitting Mill, which was a local manufacturer of underwear. You can see some faded outlines of the ‘underwear’ part on the image above.

Recently a brick wall was erected around the front of the building, to form a perimeter around the outdoor part of the establishment.

There are lots of plans for the outdoor area: a grill, pizza oven, bar, and possibly other water features.

The new venue will be owned and operated by the same person that owns Mosaic Wine Lounge. You can expect some of the same Moroccan/North African style and influences in the establishment shown here, but to be on a more grand and luxurious scale.

At the risk of sounding coy, I can say there are larger plans than I’m outlining here. Because of the tentative nature of planned features for the new establishment, I was asked not share everything on the table, including the name.

The planned opening date is about six months from now, but that’s all subject to change based on various inspections and construction work completion. Because so much effort is concentrated on the outdoor aspect of the place, I’m guessing that there will be a big push to be complete around the time fall sets in.

The spaces above the ground floor will house offices. The plans for the outdoor area were described to me as “resembling the garden of Eden”, and should provide an interesting visual landscape for the folks lucky enough to work upstairs.

Where the future bar will be

Construction crews are working nearly around the clock, including weekends and evenings to get this place off the ground. It’s a welcome sign to see such a project in downtown Raleigh in the current economic climate.

We will continue to bring you information and developments of the new venue.

What a wonderful project. A jewel for the downtown area. My only wish is that there was space for an incredible upscale floral studio!Somthing very European.

Buddy Owens03/10/2010

I drive by there every day. Will it have public toilets?

CX03/10/2010

I always wondered about this building. I’m definitely support of bring life back to this location. I never noticed the amount of land that in front of the building (see Google aerials). Will this just be used for parking, or does someone else own the land? Would be cool space for offices and/or condos.

The Dreadnought03/10/2010

So glad to see businesses like this popping up in the gray area where downtown meets Capital Blvd (AhPeele, as well).

Buddy, there will be bathrooms, but I don’t know how public they will be.
With the exception of the service road that runs parallel to Capital/Dawson and the front of the building that faces the train tracks (North Street) is one property that was purchased in several pieces, but owned by one person.

Jay03/12/2010

this is great news. i’d like to see what, if any, plans there are for the building across the street. as far as i can tell, it’s not being used for anything other than maybe state storage.

Hollis03/16/2010

Oh man, I love this building. I really wish they were making it into cool apts with decent rent! I’ll still go when it opens. But I’d love to live there.

NC OG03/27/2010

Really….another bar?

Joe Seale01/21/2011

Any updated on the completion date?

bradleyivan01/21/2011

I love this building. I am a Raleigh Native but spent a year in New England and loved all of the old mills.

I saw today that they have began the landscaping. I am excited for it to open and will for sure be there!

It won’t be just another bar. I will be a full service restaurant open for lunch and dinner. Currently, they are waiting for inspections to be completed and minor finishing touches, but for the most part, it’s done. The name of the restaurant is Babylon featuring north African food with French influences. The top floor is leased as well, leaving the middle floor still available for whomever wants to lease it. The owner is flexible regarding what goes into the space, FYI.